review: Profoto A1 flash

Profoto has a very strong reputation in the industry for making gear that are reliable, easy to use, powerful, and, well … looks really good. When Profoto entered the market a few years ago with the portable Profoto B1 flash (affiliate), and then the Profoto B2 flash (affiliate), it was inevitable then that at some point they would make a grand entrance with a speedlight style flash. With this review of the Profoto A1 flash (affiliate), I wanted to show more how I would use it, than just cover the specs of the flash.

I met up with Anastasiya to record this review video, but it ended up being partly a tutorial video as well. In the studio we go over how I would use this in a simple way as an on-camera bounce flash – and used properly, the results can be surprisingly good. We then went out on location and used the Profoto A1 as a trigger for the B1 unit, as well as using the Profoto A1 as a single off-camera flash.

The results look really good – as they should when you use flash with careful consideration. That’s to be expected. What you can also expect with the Profoto A1 is an elegant lighting device. The designers really put a lot of thought into this flash.

Features of the Profoto A1 flash

Before we list the specifications (in a very dry way lower down in this review), I want to go over a few things that stood out for me with this flash:

The A1 has a neat system with how you can magnetically attach modifiers and gels. No need to strap things down – everything just smoothly clips into position.

There is also a clip-on white bounce card, and if you reverse the white bounce card to have the black side in front, you have a flag. For those of you who regularly follow the Tangents blog, you will immediately recognize how to use this flag on the flash – just like you would the Black Foamie Thing. The Profoto A1 just looks a lot more elegant.

The modeling light on the Profoto A1 changes zoom angle as you zoom the flash head! So you can immediately see how much of your scene will be covered by how you zoom the flash head. Again, an elegant implementation.

The way that Profoto implements TTL and Manual flash by interlocking it, is beautiful. You can do a test shot in TTL, and if the exposure looks good, you just lock it as a manual exposure. This is a handy time-saver on a stressful shoot.

No need for AA batteries. The Profoto A1 has a proprietary battery that clips onto the front of the flash.

I have used the Profoto A1 on several weddings now, and what also impressed me is how fast the flash recycles, even when fired at full power. The battery really keeps up. The spec sheet has the recycling time as 0.05 to 1.2 Sec. That 1.2 seconds recycle time is really fast for a full dump.

The power rating for the flash is given as 76 Ws, instead of the usual Guide Number rating given for speedlights. In testing the flash in the studio, I’d say the Profoto A1 flash is about 1/2 stop brighter than the equivalent Nikon or Canon speedlights. Not a massive difference, but it does mean the A1 delivers a respectable output for a flash of this kind.

Profoto hasn’t mentioned yet which range the flash’s radio signal has, but in the video you can see that I specifically shot with a 300mm lens to get full-length photos of Anastasiya – this gave me a really long working distance, and there were no misfires! Of course, Sport photographers would work over longer distances, but for my needs (weddings & portraits), the Profoto offers more than I need in terms of signal range.

Using the Profoto A1 for on-camera bounce flash

With this photo (as shown in the video), we had the black flag on the Profoto A1 to control how the light from the flash spilled. Working close enough to a surface we can bounce the flash off … and with careful posing, we can get short lighting! This looks like studio quality lighting from an on-camera flash.

On-Camera Flash Photography – revised edition

This book is explains a cohesive and thorough approach to getting the best from your on-camera speedlight.

Particular care was taken to present it all with a logical flow that will help any photographer attain a better understanding of flash photography.

You can either purchase a copy via Amazon USA and Amazon UK, or can be ordered through Barnes & Nobles and other bookstores. The book is also available on the Apple iBook Store, as well as Amazon Kindle.
Also check out the Amazon Kindle store.

Using the Profoto A1 as a remote trigger, or as an off-camera flash

With this sequence of photos shot out on location (as shown in the video), I used the Profoto A1 initially as a trigger to fire the Profoto B1 flash. Then I reverted to using the Profoto A1 flash as the off-camera flash, triggered by a Profoto Air-TTL trigger. This makes the Profoto A1 more versatile than just being a speedlight. It doubles as a trigger for your other Profoto lights!

The lens that I used in this section is the remarkable Nikon 300mm f/4E VR (B&H / Amazon). It is compact – less than 6″ long, and is light-weight. Combine this with the lens’ stabilization, and you have a long focal length lens that is very hand-holdable … and razor sharp!

Using the Profoto A1 in high-speed sync mode

There really is nothing to using the Profoto A1 flash in high-speed flash sync mode. With the Nikon, you simply ramp up the shutter speed to where you need it to be. Remember, that with all flashes, there is some loss of power when you go into HSS mode. This is discussed in my book, Off-Camera Flash, as well as the tutorial here on the Tangents blog: High-speed flash sync (HSS)

During this part of the photo session, I used the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG (affiliate) at f/1.4 for that specific shallow depth-of-field wide open. This then pushed the shutter speed up to 1/640 which is well into HSS territory. Because I worked with the flash fairly close to Anastasiya, I could get away with using this flash outside, while bounced into a small umbrella. If I had worked in stronger light conditions, I would’ve used bare off-camera flash.

Off-Camera Flash Photography

With this book, I wanted the material in the book to flow as a truly accessible introduction to off-camera flash. The techniques here are within the reach of everyone.

As always, the aim was for those aha! moments when things become clear and just makes sense. And then, hopefully, inspire the readers of the book to see how easily off-camera flash lighting can expand our photographic repertoire.

You can either purchase a copy via Amazon USA or Amazon UK. The book is available on the Apple iBook Store, and Amazon Kindle.

Profoto A1 specifications

Built-In AirTTL, Use On or Off Camera

Recycling: 0.05 to 1.2 Sec

Li-Ion Battery: 350 Full Power Flashes

High Speed Sync, LED Modeling Light

9 Stop Power Range, 76 Ws Output

Weighs 1.2 lb Including Battery

Optional Wireless TTL with Air Remote

Includes Bounce Card, Dome Diffuser

Also includes Wide Lens, Flash Stand, USB Cable

Summary

It is clear that I am impressed with the Profoto A1. It does come with a high price though – about double the equivalent speedlights from the camera makers. However, it fits so seamlessly into the Profoto ecosystem, that I do think there will be a strong demand for this well-designed unit.

You can order the Profoto A1 through these affiliate links:
– Profoto A1 flash for Canon (B&H)
– Profoto A1 flash for Nikon (B&H)

Video tutorials to help you with flash photography

If you like learning by seeing best, then these video tutorials will help you with understanding flash photography techniques and concepts. While not quite hands-on, this is as close as we can get to personal instruction. Check out these and other video tutorials and online photography workshops.

Still waiting for a solution to more power from an on-camera flash (without additional attachement) that I can also use off camera. The A1 being only a touch more powerful than a normal Speedlight is dissapointing.

I don’t think the Godox AD200 can be beat for a small and self contained powerful flash for a fraction of the price. just your cant use it for bounce flash on camera.

Looks like a great flash and would love one , however I notice that there is no mention of weather sealing on the information so far released by Profoto. Can you confirm if there is indeed sealing ? Also, I think the price point may be off putting for some.

Pleased to see you are feeling better and I hope you continue your recovery

Its a nice solution, I would have jumped at it last year but with Godox AD200 and the v860 flashes being so light, good and cheap its hard to justify another 1000 dollars for this flash. Maybe if it was quite a bit cheaper it would seem like a good purchase.

Flashpoint has a similar system (basically Godox) which I’m in love with, but the ease of use with switches and simple menus, and built-in magnets make me super jealous. Here’s hoping Flashpoint takes a lesson from Profoto!

Have you experimented with Flash Value Lock on Nikon cameras? It calculates an initial flash value based on TTL and locks it. You can adjust it after the lock with Exposure Compensation. I believe this matches the behavior you describe above for the Profoto.

The big difference is that Nikon’s system really *is* a lock. With the Profoto system, it’s just a transfer of the last-used TTL power to a manual setting, which can be further tweaked or fine-tuned as required. There’s not a whole lot of difference with a single flash, of course, but it’s huge with multiple flashes, since the FVL means you have to roll all of the dice again if you want to change the level of one group, whereas the Profoto TTL/Manual switch means you get to keep what’s good (very likely the key light, unless you work… differently) and change what’s off a bit. And it doesn’t depend on a button press on the camera; once the flashes are manual, they’ll stay at their settings. I’m surprised, really, that this TTL-to-manual behaviour hasn’t shown up everywhere since it hit the ground a couple of years back. It makes ballparking and refining extremely fast.

Thanks for the video and review Neil. I’ve been watching reviews for a little over an hour today and this one was perfect to round off the set of vids I’ve seen today. I’m highly considering purchasing one to add to my Profoto light set.

Neil, I really like the videos – subtle things that come across in video which often don’t come across in text. Wonderful that all the gear (strobes and speedlights) work together without any further triggers etc.

Great review of the new flash. I would like to see how it performs on camera in a typical event setting. Corporate party, wedding reception, etc. Bounce and no bounce settings, direct and with the included diffusers.

My SB800’s are getting old. Wondering if I could use these reliably as my main on-camera flashes in addition to an occasional off-camera use.

The game changer for me is the ability to shoot roughly 350 shots at full power with the Li-ion battery and the ability to replace it with another fully charged battery with ease. This eliminates the need for the Nikon SD-9 battery pack, not to mention the additional cost of the battery pack. And, of course the recycle time is nice.

Neil, when using the A1 photographing the weddings you mentioned, was one battery sufficient or did you need a backup? How about the flash overheating? Did you happen to find a loss of power when shooting, lets say 5 shots one right after another allowing full recycle between shots?

Nice review Neil !
Thanks for comparing the specified 76Ws with other speedlight power output, this information is impossible to find otherwise.
I do not understand why Profoto tries to market the A1 speedlight as a studio strobe, I think it makes sense that you compare it with other speedlights.

Hi Neil,
You mentioned that the Profoto A1 provides about a half-stop more power than Nikon or Canon’s speedlights. Is that enough juice to overpower the sun in your past photos, or would you still go with the B1 or B2 for that kind of shot? I have 3 Nikon SB-900s and am looking for an eventual replacement to them, especially for built-in wireless TTL.

I’ve previously seen your B1 at the studio and asked about your B2. As awesome as they are, they are just a tad too big for my use cases.

Neil, when using the A1 photographing the weddings you mentioned, was one battery sufficient or did you need a backup? How about the flash overheating? Did you happen to find a loss of power when shooting, lets say 5 shots one right after another allowing full recycle between shots?

The A1 battery lasts me about half a wedding. Which means I would need 3 batteries to be safe … and then still take the charger with me.

Over the past weekend, I photographed a Bar Mitzvah, and there are sections of the party (such as the hora), which require rapid firing of the flash. No over-heating! My Nikon speedlights would’ve been hot, but the Profoto A1 remained as cool as it was.

Neil, Profoto doesn’t mention anything about thermal protection. I’ve read somewhere that they use ceramics. Can you mash on the A1 at full power in rapid succession and never over heat? If so, why aren’t they promoting this? That would be huge for a lot of people and make the $1000 price worth it for them.

I have no idea why they aren’t highlighting this aspect of the A1. For me it is important, because with some events (like the Bar Mitzvah I mentioned), you can’t stop shooting because your flash is getting hot. So this is an essential feature for event photographers.

Hi, I see that you are also using a Nikon D810. I’ve got the Profoto A1, but when I switch the AF assist on the unit to Auto nothing happens. I’ve tried all sorts of AF modes, switching Af assist on and off in the camera, tried it in different darkness levels but nothing… does it work with your camera? I have got two bodies and it doesn’t work on either of them. Have you got any suggestion how I can get it to work…? I spoke to Profoto and haven’t still heard back from them, so let’s see… please let me know how you are getting on with it, best wishes, Micha

I just double-checked – the AF assist works on my D810 with the Profoto A1.
You did say you used all the AF modes, but just to confirm … the AF assist doesn’t work in AF-C mode; it only works with AF-S mode.

Hi Neil, thank you very much for your reply! I did indeed forget the AF-S mode and it works like you say. Unfortunately I am usually using the AF-C mode most of the time, shouldn’t it work there also? For example I am photographing an event next week, it will be dimly lit and the subjects are moving around. The D810 is anyhow not the best camera to lock focus in darker environments, so it would be great if the AF assist of the A1 would also work using also the continuous mode. I’ll ask Profoto if it is possible to implement it in a possible future firmware upgrade. Well thanks again and have a nice weekend!!

Wow. With 4 Canon 600EX-RTs in my bag I’m not going to switch any time soon. . .unless . . .hmmm. . .if I sell them I could buy two A1s, couldn’t I? Great review, Neil; answered every question I could have come up with. Thanks.

Hi Neil, I have a question regarding using the A1 in combination with the Soft Bounce. Whenever I point the camera slightly downwards the A1 head tilts forward and often the Soft Bounce comes off due to the sudden movement. It is quite annoying as I am using it to photograph corporate events and sometimes I do have to point the camera downwards to take pictures of canapés, brochures… I do understand that with the Soft Bounce it is more top heavy and I also find the tilting mechanism very soft with very little friction (unlike the Nikon systems speed lights), so to prevent this and make the A1 stiff and rigid I found the only solution is to use some tape. Profoto suggested to turn the head around 180 degrees, so that it basically tilts backwards. But they also said that the head shouldn’t tilt at all if I point the camera slightly downwards. What is you experience with this combination? To illustrate it I have uploaded this short clip.. http://downloads.michatheiner.com/A1_Tilt_Clip.zip

I haven’t tried the Soft Bounce at an angle like that – but yeah, that would be a problem, especially because the Profoto A1’s head doesn’t lock into any position. It’s that compromise of being able to easily move the head … versus this. I’d go with their suggestion to rotate the head around.

Neil,
Do you have any experience using the A1 on camera using auto ISO on your Nikon bodies. When using nikon flashes on camera as fill the ISO will vary when using auto ISO as you know. I’ve seen a single report that this does not occur with the A1. Do you know if this is the case? Obviously one can set the ISO manually but in rapidly changing lighting environments it’s convenient to let the auto ISO do its thing. Thanks.

This has been my experience too, Robert…my SB910 works fine with my D850 and D750 auto ISO but my A1’s don’t so ISO would need to be set manually….whether this could be addressed in a firmware update I’m not sure…

I’m a UK based wedding photography and first time user of Protofo products when I recently purchased four A1’s.

I’ve a few observations that I’d like to share with you….

– I don’t think I was fully aware when I purchased that the A1 doesn’t function the same as speedlights. So no full power, half power, quarter power etc so I need to adapt my thinking to the Profoto power range of 2 to 10 with 10 being full power, 9 being half power etc. So I really need to get used to this (I’m sure I will).

– When using an A1 on camera to act as a trigger to other A1’s the on camera display illustrates the power adjustment to the off camera A1’s and not the actual power level itself which I would prefer.

– Frustratingly an on camera A1 does not appear to work with Nikon’s auto ISO set up (not on my D850 or D750) whereas my Nikon SB910 works just fine

– When using ‘back button’ focus on my D850 and D750 the AF assist when on the ‘auto’ setting on the A1 does not work (reading the comments above I’ve just twigged it’s because the AF is in continuous).

I would also very much like to interact with other A1 users to share our experiences but although Profoto’s Facebook page (and Profoto USA) shows a ‘Community’ page I don’t appear to be able to join it.

I hope my comments don’t come across as negative because generally speaking I am finding the A1 to be quality product and I’m hoping that the minor issues I’ve pointed out are largely addressed with future firmware updates.

Mark, than you for your thoughtful response.
To answer some of what you mention:

– the way the Profoto flashes show the power output (from level 2 to 10, with level 9 being half power) … this is standard with Profoto, and I think with other studio lights as well? So if you are used to it, it is easy enough.

– that is a valid observation – it would have been ideal if you could see the other flashes’ output levels too. That said, the Profoto Air remotes don’t show it either.

– I don’t use auto ISO, and it isn’t a feature that would make a lot of sense to me with flash? What would be a typical scenario for you where you’d use it?

Hi Neil, have you made any comparisons to the Quantum Trio?
I’ve been a Trio user for years and feel that the light is powerful and super soft! Of course this may be a cause of the battery pack and round diffuser.
Do you find these units comparable in the least or would my SB5000 be a better comparison to the A1?
Thanks for your valued input!

I had a few Quantum Q-flashes way back, but dropped them eventually in favor of the Profoto B1 flashes. So I am only slightly familiar with the Trio. It is more powerful than the usual speedlights.

It makes sense though to work within a specific “ecosystem” of gear – and for me, that is Profoto. I like how the A1 and B1 units integrate.

If you aren’t already using Profoto, then the SB-5000 speedlights make more sense – but keep in mind that for wireless flash, you’d still have to get the WR-R10 and WR-A10. I’ve already damaged one of these WR sets because it snagged against my trousers. It seems more like an after-thought than a properly integrated system.

Thank you Neil,
I’m currently using an SB-5000 on camera during bridal prep, Qantum during ceremony/reception and the Profoto B1 which I love to use for anything creative outside or lighting large indoor portraits.
I think you said it perfectly tying to live inside 1 ecosystem….hopefully the A1 will be the missing piece of my flash puzzle and find me a single home/system!
Thank you!

In this review of the A1 you’re using the A1 on what looks like a Profoto light stand (which I use). It appears as though you’re using an adapter that allows allows you to not only lock onto the stand but to also use an umbrella.

Can you direct me to where I might find those perhaps even on the B&H website? Just received one A1 w a second one arriving on Friday. LOVE these things.

I am a quantum user and profoto to.
I have interest to buy the profoto a1 but I want to know more about the af assist light ( I wofk a lot with low light and I realy need a good assist light like on the quantum trio

Can you make a comparaison behind the quantum trio and the profoto A1, who is the best :

I do a lot of wedding and photoshoots with low light in a restaurant, I use for 5 year now the flash quantum and I am very happy with them but I also use profoto b1 and I need to change all my quantum battery pack for new one. So your opinion is very important if I go to the prototo A1:

I don’t know when the Profoto A1 would go into thermal shutdown or how that would be triggered – but I can tell you that I have shot fast with this flash at (or near) full power, and it keeps up. No problems.

I don’t have a Quantum Trio to compare with. I had the Quantum T5D way back, but eventually migrated to the profoto system for ease of use and the more powerful light.

I hate my A1s returning them today. I initially tried them in Italy and there were syncing issues with the B2.
Because they were just being released the rep thought the pre-production ones were buggy. Sadly have the same syncing issues.

I own 2 Profoto B1s, and 2 Nikon SB-910s. I persisted with this for many months believing that an A1 probably doesn’t offer a lot more than a 910.

Every time I put the SB-910 on top of my camera or take it off camera, I had to play around with it to “get the hang of it again” because it is not very intuitive (I have owned the 910s for many years now and still feel this way).

I tried a few 3rd party devices (Cactus V6, pocketwizard tt5/tt1) because hunting through a camera menu or flash menu to change flash exposure settings is annoying and seems unnecessary in today’s era, and none of them significantly improved my flow. Turning devices on in a certain order, getting misfires and wondering where, along the 6 step chain, might the problem be…

As Joe McNally mixes the sb-5000s with the Profoto B1s, I went to a local talk where a Nikon rep was showing off the SB5000s and the WT devices, and even he couldn’t get the system seamlessly working without going back and forth troubleshooting the little errors. This spoke volumes to me about what is and isn’t user friendly/intuitive.

The Profoto A1 is beautiful and works beautifully. No flicking through instruction manuals. No buying Pocketwizard/other devices for on-top-of-camera changes in power settings, no digging through camera menu systems to change power settings.

Thank you for another very information video.
On average how many shots per battery would you achieve at an evening wedding.
At my first mini session with the A1 I took 103 shots after which the battery indicator showed 25% remaining [average power 5.0].

John, I haven’t done any testing to see how many (full power) flash pops I get per battery.

The way I work, I rarely hit a flat battery since I change out batteries at key moments. For example, at a wedding, I would change the battery of the A1 before the reception, and again after the speeches before the party starts again. There are these quieter moments before we would use flash a lot, that would make sense to change out the battery … instead of risking it dying during a crucial moment.

Thank you for producing such a wonderful review of the Profoto A1.
This review shows how powerful and versatile this new and small flash can be. I just bought my first Profoto A1 flash to use it with my Nikon cameras. This past weekend I did a portrait session using it as off-camera flash with the Profoto Air TTL remote.
I would like to ask you a quick question regarding TTL calibration with the Profoto A1.
I was shooting with the Profoto A1 set to TTL and for some reason my first shots were dark and the TTL was not getting the exposure right. I compared it to the SB-910 that I also tested using the Phottin Odin remote triggers and I got the right exposure on the first shot. I only was able to get a correct exposure on the Profoto A1 after I used my flash compensation button on the nikon D4s camera to raise one stop. Is this common? I have upgraded all camera, remote and Profoto A1 firmware to the latest version.

The 1 stop under-exposure seems to be consistent with the Profoto A1, so I generally have my FEC (Flash Exposure Compensation) dialed up when I use the A1. It is just one of those quirks that I work around, even if not ideal.